In this edition of Campfire, we have marketing guru and plant parent Matthew Basabe.
Hello, kindly introduce yourself.
Hello, My name is Ramon Matthew Reyes-Basabe. You can call me Matt. I am a Sales-marketing Professional with experience in Business Development and Creative Communications.
What would a day in the life of Matthew Basabe look like nowadays?
I wake up very early on weekdays, meditating with my plants with a citrusy scented candle accompanied by feel-good karaoke music to start my day right, and oh coffee- always with coffee! I then head to work either to monitor my team's performance or plan the next big moves to achieve our monthly goals. I end my day late afternoon, straight to home with a book, coffee (again), deep and masculine scented candles with orchestra music. I am an ambivert, I am a loud, assertive extrovert when I am outside the comforts of home, but when I return to my den, I prefer to be alone connecting with my inner self.
I make sure to enjoy and make my weekends count. I meet with my clients whom I do marketing consultancy for, and end the day with a glass of wine and a trip to the mountains.
As we found ourselves spending more time indoors, how did this affect your work and your creative process, or even life in general?
Well, I thought I matured when I was 25 as I changed my daily activities from crazy to ordinary, but 2020 was an affirmation that there's still a lot of room to grow. I resigned from a job that I loved so much because I followed my passion for plants and opened a Plant Shop. I started collecting plants way before the pandemic so it was an advantage to me as I know where the best suppliers are and how to propagate plants. Being alone at home, I reconnected with my inner self and found out things about myself that I did not know, like my love for classical music, embracing my OCD and Bipolar disorders, and making them work alongside my daily tasks and errands. On top of the crazy year that has been, I think the best thing that ever happened was reconnecting with family and creating moments with them (as I do not have a close relationship with mine). 2020 taught us the importance of many valuable things money can't buy, Passion, Family, and Growth.
How did inspiration take its form during these months of limited movement and personal interaction?
Being alone as an extrovert was challenging and fulfilling at the same time. I am just thankful that I'm a Scorpio-Leo person who hates stagnation, I dedicated most of my time expanding the plant shop and meeting new plant parents along the journey. As I was growing the business, I created an online community (now Cebu's Biggest Plant community: Cebu Plant Buddies). I didn't just explore my passion, but gathered like minded individuals to share and exchange ideas with and to level up the craft of plant parenthood.
Tell us about something that you got to do during the past year because of the pandemic that you haven't done before.
Organizing intimate Family gatherings. As you know, I am not a family guy per se. Growing up, I enjoyed moments alone where I create, explore and execute on my own and that I did, even lived alone. But the past year brought me back to family; made me realize how important this circle is in our lives. I felt more complete, more loved and it's so nice to know that no matter who and where you are, this connection with family will always be special and it will always exist beyond anything in between. And yes! I will definitely be spending more time with my family and share more moments this year and forever!
Do you keep rituals in your daily routine and how does this affect you and your work?
I am a very spontaneous person- sporadic, if I may call my daily activities but my morning and evening rituals remain the same. In the morning, I talk to my plants, touch them and meditate with them with music and scents. This morning ritual is very important to me as it prepares my mind and body since, because of the pandemic, I go to battle everyday as I step out of my house. After a long day, I do the same ritual, only that it is in a different mood this time. Realigning my inner self, and to prepare for the next day to conquer.
Out with the old, in with the new. Name 1 thing you let go from the previous year and 1 thing you hope to achieve this year.
Oooh, this is interesting. I am ready to let go of my fear of the uncertain. These days has taught us to be ready for whatever that comes and whatever that will be. Being a strategic person and someone who plan to always win, knowing what lies beyond is something I always seek. If the journey becomes smeared and cloudy, I tend to panic. Because of 2020, I learned to trust in my instincts and to just accept whatever the outcome would be. Something I want to achieve this year is to finally move into a bigger house so I can do more of what I do best, planting and gardening! (Claiming it!)
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Matthew is on Instagram as @matchogwapito